I’ve got a new (to me) Rocky Mountain Vertex. Fast as flip and really enjoyable but def. an XC racey bike. It encourages you to ride quickly, not ‘funly’.

I tried putting a shorter stem on it (from 100mm to 65mm) and the steering was awful. The bike was twitchy and nervous. I’ve also tried an 80mm with the same negative effect.

It did make the bike easier to lift the front but other than that, unrideable.

Does adding spacers to the steerer tube to raise the stem have the same effect as a shorter stem but without the nervous steering?

I should say that I haven’t ridden bikes properly for 5-6 years so is it me waiting to get my skills back or is a 65mm stem on a bike like the Vertex always going to be a weird combo?

Cheers

:looks to see what a Rocky mountain vertex is:

:realises there are many different kinds, including a new 29er version:

:offers pennyworth:

I reckon adding more spacers will simply make it feel a bit more ‘vague’ at the front end, not less twitchy. I find by getting my weight low over the front, the front wheel feels positive. I generally run 5-10 mm of spacers though. Wouldn’t ever go higher. But I am a bit towards the ‘XC mincer’ end of the spectrum.. 😉

Maybe try going with a wider bar as you shorten the stem. This should tame the nervousness a little as bigger input is needed from the rider.

Adding spacers might help to bring your weight back off the bars a little, but it won’t have much effect on steering.

Shirley it’ll bring your weight back, and move the CoG? That will make a difference!

How many spacers are we talking about? 😀

More spacers will pull weight off the front wheel which will make climbing steeper stuff hard work, and increase the chances of washing the front wheel out in corners unless you overcompensate your body positioning.

Adding spacers should adjust your CG very slightly but I would concur with MtbRoutes if you go shorter stem then go with a wider bar.

Thanks for the replies.

It’s a 26″ carbon HT. My riding style’s probably jey-core-lite 🙂

I’ve got wider bars on there (Answer Pro Taper 685mm) and at the moment, 1cm of spacer.